A Moth to a Flame

A Moth to a Flame was written in 1948 by a prolific Swedish author who went on the face such severe writers block in later life, that he committed suicide. In retrospect this translated novel feels unconsciously biopic in tone. It’s a dark tale, set in Stockholm over the course of a year - though it seems to be a permanently dark, cold winter. The story is told from the perspective of Bengt, a young man whose mother has just died. He discovers during the funeral that his father was having an affair, and grows to despise both his father and the lover. He himself has a fiancée , whom he seems to dislike in equal measure. The story progresses into a vengeful state, where (in it’s climactic moments) Bengt discovers that his anger towards his step-mother is in fact jealousy and desire. I’ll leave it up to you to read the book if you want to see how it all turns out in the end…

I found the style of writing so unusual I kept reading, in part for it’s pure objectivity. The characters are constantly referred to as ‘the father’ or ‘the fiancée’, and the descriptions are so exacting they could be stage directions in a script. The main themes throughout the novel are purity, ideals of beauty and a Freudian view of masculinity / mother-son relationships. The unusual perfunctory style of prose lends itself well to Bengt’s narrow, violent mindset around these topics. In contrast however, there are also sections where Bengt writes a letter to himself, and these are long, philosophical and musing. It’s a smart technique, keeping the reader engaged by switching between the two styles.

I think that the more theoretical knowledge you obtain, the more multifarious and kaleidoscopic your view becomes of the reality that lurks behind concepts. This reality is so insatiably rich that a fixed determinant of a concept’s position must become an absurdity.

The introduction to the book, by Siri Hustvedt, does great justice to the quality of the writing, and the acclaim it has received since release. I’d recommend reading this prior to reading the novel, I think without it I might have given up halfway - such was my dislike of all the characters involved. Overall, I’m glad I read it - and I’ll never read it again. You’ll have to make your own mind up.

CW: Suicide, animal cruelty, violence